Global employee mobility: Deploying talent strategically

In today's labor market talented employees with experience in more than one country are increasingly considered as valuable as their specialties. Close to half of global CEOs said they foresee problems deploying experienced employees in other countries*. With the world's markets constantly evolving, organisations need to continue to re-evaluate their people strategies and look at how they can best deploy talent for future business success. How confident are you that your global mobility programme supports this and delivers the best value for the business?

Your global mobility programme's structure, flexibility, and assignment offerings can have a significant impact on talent management. Examining your global mobility policies will allow you to determine if they are comprehensive, effective, and properly aligned with your organisational goals.

As policy elements have changed over time, company needs in this area have also changed. A one-size-fits-all approach no longer works for global mobility policies. Organisational structures have become more decentralised and regulatory requirements around the world more complex. As such, mobility policy frameworks and supporting processes must be consistent, but still flexible enough, to support the needs of the various businesses units, types of mobile employees, and regions.

We believe an effective global mobility governance framework is the foundation for operational efficiency. It’s critical to identifying opportunities to improve administration and service, enhance compliance, and reduce costs.

The unique cross-functional nature of the mobility process makes it critical for the global mobility team to collaborate with different functional groups to agree on the roles and responsibilities that support mobility and assignment processes. To be successful, tax, line HR, executive compensation, accounting, payroll, legal, and the mobility team must understand the individual roles they play in the programme’s successful execution.

Accountability and authority for global mobility and assignment administration are vital attributes of a successful mobility governance model. However, owning mobility policies isn’t enough. To achieve enhanced operational efficiency, the global mobility team should also have the responsibility and authority to control the policy’s operational aspects, including payroll, accounting issues, and outsourcing vendors.

To discuss how we might be able to help you with your clients' needs, please contact us.